Egomaniac Bosses Damage The Companies that Employ Them

Poor managers thwart organizational growth and alienate employees. If you have ever worked for a manager with an attitude you might become acutely aware of the damaging impact a personality can have on a department. According to a study in the Academy of Management Journal such mangers are protecting their fragile egos by silencing the suggestions of their employees (Fast, Burris & Bartel, 2014).

Managers with low self-efficacy don't feel that they have the ability to meet new management expectations. They are overwhelmed and concerned about being successful. In order to thwart any criticism of their management style and performance they resort to bullying their employees and tearing them down when possible.

Most people have experienced this at some point in our lives. We expect that out of the thousands of people we meet in a month that a few will be rude, condescending, and aggressive. It is easy to simply ignore them and walk away. Poor managers are much more difficult to deal with as they influence your livelihood.

The workplace creates a captive audience that develops a culture of fear. The inner temper-tantrum throwing child with low emotional intelligence didn't grow up and they are now in charge of assets and people. Organizations that allow such management styles to continue on unchecked will find themselves less competitive.

Not only might employees be miserable, but they may also be bullied into silence and may not be able to contribute to the organization. The manager has effectively choked off new ideas that could have improved the organization. The more this behavior continues the more the organization stands to lose.

They found that this low self-efficacy led to a lack of soliciting input on processes, negative evaluations of employees who did contribute, and a climate of voice aversion. The managers encouraged a culture that lacked a level of innovative spirit and alienated employees. These borders and lack of willing participation in the organizational development process potentially could impact the success of the organization.

Fast, N., Burris, E. & Bartel, C. (2014). Managing to stay in the dark: managerial self-efficacy, ego defensiveness, and the aversion to employee voice. Academy of Management Journal, 57 (4).